Thursday, June 30, 2016

Mayor Dawn Zimmer joined other Hoboken officials, dignitaries, and members of the public for a groundbreaking ceremony for the Southwest Park - a one acre park in southwest Hoboken designed to hold 200,000 gallons of stormwater runoff that will also serve as a model for green infrastructure resiliency parks in New Jersey. The property is currently a surface parking lot and is the first phase for a larger Southwest Park.

“The Southwest Park project will transform a parking lot into a green oasis for this thriving neighborhood and will be a model for building resiliency parks that help mitigate flooding,” said Mayor Dawn Zimmer. “This park has been a goal of mine since 10 years ago when I was a stay-at-home mom advocating with my neighbors, and it is the reason why I got involved in government. I am thankful to all of the community advocates, the City Council, Hudson County, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure Trust for their strong support of this project.”

The park will feature passive recreational space, a dog run, moveable cafe tables, a pop-up market zone, restrooms, multi-level seating for small performances, free public Wi-Fi, and a lawn with child-friendly interactive park features. It will also include green infrastructure (rain gardens, shade tree pits, porous pavers, a cistern for rainwater harvesting and reuse) and an underground detention system to reduce stormwater run-off and localized flooding.

“For over ten years, it's been a labor of love to fight for the breaking ground on this park,” said Councilman At-Large David Mello. “Countless friends and neighbors have worked together to make this cutting edge open space a reality for our growing and ever evolving southwest neighborhood. I'm so happy for the whole community that this project is finally breaking ground, and was honored to have helped bring it to fruition.”

"Hoboken's Southwest Park plan as an outstanding example of an innovative, multi-benefit project," said Jane Kenny, co-chair of Jersey Water Works, a cross-sector collaborative focused on transforming New Jersey's aging and inadequate water infrastructure. "This park will not only help solve the problem of chronic flooding in the area, but will reduce sewage discharge into the Hudson River and transform a paved parking lot into a vital and healthy recreational green space serving one of the most densely populated communities in the country. All of us at Jersey Water Works applaud today's groundbreaking, and are delighted to see this plan become a reality."

Funding to purchase the property was provided from a $3 million Hudson County Open Space grant. Financing to construct the park is provided through a low-interest loan from the New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure Trust.

PARK AVENUE BRIDGE REHABILITATION WILL IMPACT TRAFFIC IN NORTH HOBOKEN DURING SUMMER

Hudson County will begin the rehabilitation of the Park Avenue bridge between Hoboken and Weehawken on July 5th. An announcement from the County regarding the project, including traffic impacts, is included below.

The County has decided that during construction the Park Avenue bridge will be configured as a one-way southbound road. As a result, the Willow Avenue bridge will be the only northbound route out of Hoboken. Drivers should plan for significant traffic delays, consider alternate routes, adjust work hours or telecommute if possible, use public transportation, and provide extra travel time.

It is likely that this configuration will result in increased congestion when exiting Hoboken towards Weehawken, especially during the morning rush hour. At Mayor Zimmer's request, the County has agreed to evaluate the traffic impact during the first few weeks of construction to determine if changes are needed to the detour plan in order to facilitate the efficient northbound flow of traffic.

Public input will be important to the traffic evaluation conducted by the County so Hoboken residents affected by the detour plan should provide their feedback to County Executive DeGise, Freeholder Romano, Mayor Zimmer, and 2nd Ward Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher.

The Hudson County Roads Department will begin the rehabilitation of the Park Avenue Bridge connecting Hoboken and Weehawken near the entryway to the Lincoln Tunnel, on Tuesday, July 5th.

The bridge, which spans over Harbor Boulevard from 16th Street to 19th Street to connect Park Avenue in Hoboken to John F. Kennedy Boulevard in Weehawken, will undergo a complete concrete deck rehabilitation, replacement of its plug joints to its armored joints, curb improvements, painting work, and roadway striping.

The anticipated completion date of the project is September 13th, 2016. Throughout the rehabilitation, one side of the bridge will remain open allowing one lane of traffic to operate in one direction, while the other side of the bridge is under construction. Traffic will only be allowed southbound however on either side of the bridge.

The first stage of construction will close the east side of the bridge from July 5th through August 8th. The second stage will close the west side of the bridge from August 9th through September 13th.

A traffic detour plan will move cars diverted from the Bridge’s under-construction lane through local streets. Traffic control and traffic direction will be provided by the Hudson County Sheriff’s Department, and the Hoboken and Weehawken Police Departments, following specifications agreed to by County and municipal engineering officials and the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT).

Street closures will be controlled by order of the municipalities. Hoboken has ordered the following closures to direct traffic to Willow Avenue and away from Park Avenue:

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Hoboken to consider project to create new 2-acre resiliency park, public gymnasium & affordable housingHoboken has an important opportunity to move forward with the 7th and Jackson project which will benefit the neighborhood and City by creating a new 2-acre resiliency park, a public gymnasium, and 42 units of affordable housing. At the July 6th City Council meeting, the Council will consider a series of resolutions, ordinances, and a Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreement to advance the project within the Northwest Redevelopment Area.

“This project is a tremendous opportunity to add much-needed open space, improve our flood resiliency, create a new indoor recreation facility, and expand affordable housing,” said Mayor Dawn Zimmer. “Working with the City Council Development Subcommittee members Chairman Mello, Councilman Doyle, Councilman Russo, and former Councilman Occhipinti, we negotiated an agreement with significant community benefits that we otherwise would not receive.”

Community Benefits

As part of the project, the developer will be required to acquire, remediate and construct two acres of public park space, which will help to alleviate the open space deficit in western Hoboken. It will include a 1 acre public park with an open grass area, public seating, and a children’s play area along with another 1 acre public plaza with step seating, passive lawn area, restrooms, and a large plaza area designed to accommodate vendors and seasonal markets. Improvements to 7th Street utilizing Belgian block-style accents and a tabled roadway will calm traffic and create visual continuity between the park and plaza. There will be more than 250,000 gallons of underground stormwater detention within the park and plaza to help address flooding issues in the area.

In addition, the developer will construct a 6,835 square foot multi-use public gymnasium that will accommodate the growing demand for recreation programs including basketball, soccer, yoga, and other fitness activities. Nearly 800 children on more than 50 basketball teams must currently share the gymnasium in the Multi-Service Center.

Finally, the project will include 42 on-site affordable housing units to be deed restricted for a minimum of 40 years. For the first time in any redevelopment agreement, the City is making sure that significant community benefits are provided before the development is finished by requiring that the public park and gymnasium be built first.

"Our committee is proud of the many community givebacks that we negotiated into this agreement; including 10% affordable housing, unprecedented water retention infrastructure to combat flooding, a contiguous park and public space that will stretch across two city blocks, and a much needed new gymnasium building capable of hosting many activities for the children of Hoboken,” said City Council Development Subcommittee Chairman David Mello. “Perhaps most importantly, the majority of these benefits will be built before the residential building that facilitated this project is occupied.”

“This project represents a great example of how the redevelopment process can and should work to benefit the community and foster sound development,” said Councilman-at-Large Jim Doyle.

“This is a redevelopment project that represents the needs of the City before all others,” said Third Ward Councilman Michael Russo. “With the community amenities that will be provided, the residents of the Third Ward will now have more than quadruple the amount of open space in our neighborhood. We took a hard line in our negotiations to ensure that we have provided one of the largest water detention systems in Hoboken to help to alleviate our city’s flooding. With the addition of this park and public gymnasium, we have ensured a tremendous increase in recreation opportunities for our children, and with the public plaza able to host outdoor movies, small musical concerts and even theater performances, this will become one of the most sought after neighborhoods in Hoboken.”

Choice: Development With or Without Community Benefits

“The choice we have to make is not whether we want development or no development — it is whether we want development with community givebacks or development that covers nearly every last square foot of land,” added Mayor Zimmer. “If the Council rejects this opportunity, the existing redevelopment plan would allow for even more residential units and would not require any community benefits.”

The negotiated redevelopment agreement consolidates all approved development into one building, allowing for the creation of new open space. The proposed agreement includes 424 residential dwelling units, 42 of which are affordable housing units which are deed restricted for a minimum of 40 years. In contrast, the existing redevelopment plan, which was adopted in 1998, allows for a total of 434 units and does not require any affordable housing. The existing plan also does ­­­­not require community benefits such as open space, flood mitigation, or the creation of a public gymnasium.

Financial Analysis

“This project provides $52 million in community benefits, compared to a loss in tax revenue of $30 million for Hoboken taxpayers as a result of the PILOT agreement necessary to make this project possible, providing important benefits at an extremely reasonable cost,” added Mayor Zimmer. “While the County would lose out on an estimated $31.6 million in tax revenue from Hoboken, it is important to recognize that Hoboken taxpayers already pay a disproportionately high amount of taxes to the County. And with the Council’s support, through the annual budget process, we will be working to make sure we support the schools even with this PILOT.”

In order to make the proposed project financially viable, a PILOT is needed. The tax benefit to the developer is approximately $118 million over 30 years, or $61 million in present value. The majority of this cost is attributable to a reduction in taxes paid to Hudson County, while the present value cost to Hoboken taxpayers is approximately $30 million of the $61 million. By comparison, the present value of the community benefits is $52 million (see chart).

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

All members of the Hoboken community are invited to attend the groundbreaking ceremony for the Southwest Park – a one acre property designed with integrated flood resiliency features. The ceremony will take place on Thursday, June 30, 2016 at 11:00am at the site of the future Southwest Park, located at the corner of Jackson Street and Observer Highway.

“The creation of the Southwest Park is the reason I first ran for office, so this is an especially meaningful milestone for me, and I invite everyone to join us to celebrate,” said Mayor Dawn Zimmer. “This park will not only provide much-needed green space for the southwest neighborhood, but it will also serve as a first-of-its-kind model in the state for integrating green infrastructure into parks to reduce flooding. I want to thank Councilman Mello and all of my Southwest neighbors who played a crucial role since 2006 to bring the first phase of this park to reality.”

The park will feature passive recreational space, green infrastructure (rain gardens, shade tree pits, porous pavers, a cistern for rainwater harvesting and reuse) and an underground detention system to reduce stormwater run-off and localized flooding. It will also include a dog run, moveable cafe tables, a pop-up market zone, restrooms, multi-level seating for small performances, free public Wi-Fi, and a lawn with child-friendly interactive park features.

Monday, June 27, 2016

Hoboken becomes more the cosmopolitan city with its proximity and transportation access.

Over the weekend, it was the unofficial host to the Argentina National Team appearing in the final of the Copa America, the soccer tournament of the Americas celebrating its 100th year.

There was singing and dancing on lower Hudson Street and downtown in the vicinity of the W Hotel as fans came out to celebrate national pride and some of international soccer's best.

There was even rumor of a famous religious figure.

Holy Father is it him? Apparently an Argentinian facsimile
in Hoboken spotted over the weekend.

The big game in the Meadowlands last night was deadlocked between Argentina and Chile with the always heartbreaking penalty shootout breaking the tie. Chile upset the favorites with a beguiling 4-2 victory.

Friday, June 24, 2016

Mayor Dawn Zimmer joined North Hudson Sewerage Authority (NHSA) Executive Director Dr. Richard J. Wolff and other City and NHSA officials for a ceremony to lower and secure the pumps for the H-5 wet weather pump station (WWPS) currently under construction.

The pump station, which is entirely underground and is designed to alleviate chronic flooding in northwest Hoboken between 9th Street and 13th Street, is a joint project between NHSA and the City of Hoboken.

“I am excited that this project is on track to be operational by the end of the summer as part of a comprehensive flood resiliency plan to protect Hoboken from all types of flooding,” said Mayor Dawn Zimmer. “I thank North Hudson Sewerage Authority for their partnership on this project and the residents of Maxwell Place for their patience during the construction.”

The station will have two pumps, each with a capacity of 40 million gallons per day, for a total pumping capacity of 80 million gallons per day, if ever necessary. During intense rain events at high tide, the pumps will pump against the tide, preventing sewers from filling to capacity and overflowing onto streets.

The pumps are expected to be operational by August 2016. Final completion of the H-5 WWPS is expected for September or October.

The City of Hoboken is financing the bulk of the project, and NHSA is in charge of design and construction and will operate and maintain the pump station under a 99 year lease with Hoboken.

Thursday, June 23, 2016

Parkmobile, LLC Partners with City of Hoboken to Bring Mobile Payments for Parking to the Entire City

Coming Soon Parkmobile mobile app will allow customers to use their mobile devices to easily pay for parking–Supplements the use of credit cards or coins

Parkmobile, LLC and the City of Hoboken announced today a program that will soon allow customers to use their mobile phones to pay for parking at approximately 900 metered spaces throughout Hoboken. The service will be launched over the next month throughout the city. Customers can pay for parking with their cell phone using Parkmobile’s mobile applications for the iPhone, Android, Windows 7, and Blackberry smartphones.

To use the new Parkmobile system, customers register free at www.parkmobile.com. Once registered, they can use a mobile app, internet, or call toll free to pay for parking. After setting up their account, customers can immediately begin using the system with their registered mobile device. Enforcement officers will be able to see that a motorist has paid with Parkmobile using a wireless handheld device. Mobile app users may also choose to receive alerts and reminders 15 minutes prior to expiration of their parking session. Time limits on meters still apply and the app will not allow users to purchase more time than allotted by the meters.

“We look forward to launching pay by phone with Parkmobile to provide Hoboken residents and visitors with a new convenient parking option,” said Mayor Dawn Zimmer. “If you decide to do some more shopping or stay for a movie after dinner, you will be able to add more time directly from your phone without going back to the meter.”

“Parkmobile is honored to partner with a city that is a progressive city,” said Jon Ziglar, CEO of Parkmobile. “We are thrilled to partner with the City of Hoboken to offer this technology, which enhances the parking experience by eliminating the need to swipe a card or feed coins to a meter. Parkmobile looks forward to working with Hoboken over the coming weeks to offer drivers a more robust means of parking.”

Parkmobile is in use in communities throughout the region including Newark, Union City, West New York, Bloomfield, Montclair, Summit, Chatham, Ridgewood, Glen Rock, New Brunswick, and other major cities including Pittsburgh and Washington, DC. In February, New York City DOT awarded a contract to Parkmobile to allow mobile payment at all metered spaces across all five boroughs.

With the most widely used mobile parking solution in the country and 5 million people using Parkmobile’s services over 30 million times per year, Parkmobile is excited to make a difference leveraging our large network of users. Parkmobile’s mobile payment solution is an added payment option and is intended to complement existing parking payment options. All existing forms of payment (credit and debit cards, coins, and bills) are still valid for meter use.

About Parkmobile

Parkmobile, LLC is the leading provider for on-demand and prepaid mobile payments for on- and off-street parking and mobility related services. The Parkmobile network is available in more than 2,000 locations, including 35 of the top 100 cities in the U.S. It is the most widely used mobile parking solution in the country with over 5 million people using Parkmobile’s services over 30 million times per year. Parkmobile’s services include on-street parking, off-street parking deck, airport and event reservations and municipal parking permit solutions. Parkmobile serves over 20 airports as well as provides reserved parking solutions for private operators, the Super Bowl, the College Football Championship Series, Fenway Park, FedEx Field and Nationwide Arena, to name a few. For more information, visit us at www.parkmobile.com, on Twitter @Parkmobile, or facebook.com/Parkmobile.

Americans are anything but safe with the open borders anti-American agenda rooted in place. Illegal immigration is the terminal crisis politicians refuse to address even in the face of repeated Islamic terrorist attacks on our shores. No amount of murders, rapes, or yes, gun violence deters them one iota. This recent five year old child's rape coming to light involving unknown refugees won't either coining a term for a new domestic threat: rapeugees.

In recent months, we've seen terrorist attacks on both American coasts killing and injuring dozens of Americans. The terrorists in San Benardino opted for guns and homemade bombs against a familiar building targeting their co-workers. Those same co-workers had earlier thrown a party for them celebrating their marriage.

The failure to concede the reality of this Islamic terrorist threat comes right from the top within the Obama Administration. Their agenda driven narrative however has shown it has no intention of addressing their failures.

For decades, a left-wing tenet insisted disarmed Americans made them safer. In recent years, a burgeoning unholy alliance undermining the West, Judeo-Christian principles and America has seen the peculiar leftist embrace of a foreign ideology based on Islamic or Sharia law. None of this is incidental or without a price as the gay community is learning.

The truth about the real domestic numbers involving gun deaths would shock many. The number one cause atop the list by far: suicide. Rifles of all kinds are in comparison infinitesimal: in the low hundreds range annually. Actual facts spawns no retreat however in attacking American liberties and their most basic defining freedom - the right to self-defense.

This Administration has engorged itself with an unrelenting divisive agenda refusing to uphold American law and the Constitution on a wide swath of issues, doing deep and lasting damage to our rights and freedoms on multiple fronts. None is more irresponsible than the failure to provide for the common defense.

In addition to the absurd insistence in suppressing the obvious terrorist attacks on the homeland, most recently in Orlando; the failure to enforce our immigration laws is putting all American lives at risk. Is Hoboken a self-designated dirty bomb nuclear free zone? Get those signs up otherwise how would the terrorists know.

Several days ago, the CIA Director tore to shreds the Administration pretense Americans are safer today in the face of Islamic terrorists and the global reach of ISIS. He laid out the risks stating the plans to infiltrate the homeland and the growing dangers.

The operative word here is growing.

What is the point of aterrorist watch list if it doesn't see the terrorists stopped?But how is the FBI to be effective when they are swamped by the betrayal of government officials who wantonly choose to trample existing laws and assigning Americans to terrorist ambitions as so much cannon fodder?

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer joined local and federal officials yesterday at a Newark rally pushing for new gun legislation, calling it "ridiculous" that someone who can't fly on a plane can buy an assault rifle.

Monday, June 20, 2016

A man charged with attempting to grab a holstered gun of law enforcement allegedly with the intent to assassinate Donald Trump was arrested Saturday at the Republican candidate's Las Vegas rally.

The alleged perp, Michael Steven Sandford holds a UK drivers license and reportedly came to the US and lived in Hoboken.

According to the federal criminal complaint, Sandford lived in the US for about a year and a half making Hoboken his home. He reportedly drove his black BMW to California before planning his trip to Las Vegas where he admitted he planned to kill Donald Trump.

Sandford, 20, has allegedly said he planned his assassination plot to murder Donald Trump a year ago.

Waiving his Miranda rights, the alleged assassin said he would have followed Trump and made another attempt at his Phoenix, Arizona rally if the opportunity to snag and shoot the presidential candidate didn't present itself in Las Vegas.

Apparently the would be killer drove his 2007 Beamer from Hoboken to California as part of his assassination plan.

According to unconfirmed reports, Sandford is a UK national and illegal alien who overstayed a visa to the US. A public defender reportedly believes him mentally competent but that he was out of work and recently living in his BMW.

A federal magistrate on Monday ordered Sandford held without bail.

Correction: Sandford is 20 not 19. This story was updated to reflect his accurate age.

The Hoboken body politic enters summer in a period of renaissance with the winds of its newest council members in the first and second wards.

Six months after their arrival on to the City Council, first time council members Michael DeFusco and Tiffanie Fisher are breathing new life into what was considered a terminally toxic political environment.

So too gone, the underwriting of the ugliest of Old Guard political operations.

Hoboken politics wasn't merely considered a contact sport, it saw the politics of personal destruction taken to a new level of toxicity repeatedly using the judicial branch as a political tool for nuclear annihilation.

A War Horse has been in the center of the storm with multiple legal controversies going back to 2010, both civil and criminal frivolous actions.

The rest of this story is MSV Premium and will be emailed to members later today.

We hope you'll join us this Thursday evening, June 23rd, for a nuts-and-bolts workshop on rent control.

We're calling it "Know Your Rights: Everything You Wanted to Know about Rent Protections but Didn't Know Who to Ask."

The event will be held from 7 to 9:30 p.m. at the Community Church, 606 Garden Street (corner of 6th and Garden) in Hoboken. Doors will open at 6:30.

We'll be talking about all the things that you as a Hoboken tenant might need to know. Things like:

-- which kinds of buildings are covered under the Hoboken Rent Control Ordinance;

-- legal versus illegal rents, what a legal rent calculation involves and how to file one;

-- what an OPRA request is and how to file one;

-- how to hold rent-money in escrow;

-- how rent increases, exemptions and surcharges are calculated;

-- the role of the Hoboken Rent Leveling and Stabilization Board;

-- rights and responsibilities of both tenants and owners;

-- who to contact for what, when, and why.

We'll also be discussing Hoboken's rent-control history, the overall context in which we find ourselves still protected by rent control, the importance of creating a tenant movement, and the benefits of membership in HFHA.

And of course we'll be answering all of your questions.

HFHA is a non-profit organization established in 2009. Through active involvement with Hoboken’s city government and by exposing inequities as they arise, we work to maintain Hoboken’s rent-control protections and we advocate for housing affordability in Hoboken.

We speak at city council meetings, keep an open dialogue with our Mayor and council people, and do whatever we can to make sure the rights we enjoy today will be in place for the future on behalf of ALL of us, the renters of Hoboken.

HFHA is staffed by volunteers that have generously donated their time over the years.

Once again, the workshop is free to the public. Donations are welcome, and are our only source of income. We encourage attendees to join HFHA.

We really look forward to seeing you this Thursday evening at the Community Church in Hoboken.

The following report comes courtesy of Jeannette Josue of the Hudson County View:

Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer, Freeholder Anthony Romano (D-5), Council President Jen Giattino, other officials and local business owners unveiled the Newark Street Plaza at a ribbon cutting ceremony this morning.

Paying for Hoboken's budding infrastructure issues is described as the driving impetus.

The NJ Attorney General's Office issued a release naming five additional individuals charged with filing false applications for Superstorm Sandy Relief funds. 62 individuals have been arrested for those charges to date.

Among the latest sweep, a Hoboken police officer, Nikola Lulaj of Dumont. The story was first reported yesterday on the Hudson County View.

From the release:

Acting Attorney General Robert Lougy announced that five additional individual were charged criminally today with filing fraudulent applications for federal relief funds related to Superstorm Sandy. Since March 2014, the Attorney General's Office has filed criminal charges against 62 people for allegedly engaging in this type of fraud, including the five individual charged today.

The Attorney General’s Office is continuing its aggressive efforts to investigate fraud in Sandy relief programs, working jointly with the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) and the Offices of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

The individuals who have been charged are alleged, in most cases, to have filed fraudulent applications for relief funds offered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). In many cases, they also applied for funds from a Sandy relief program funded by HUD, low-interest disaster loans from the SBA, or assistance provided by the New Jersey Department of Human Services. The HUD funds are administered in New Jersey by the Department of Community Affairs.

“Each of these defendants knew the requirements to qualify for this disaster aid, but each selfishly lied about their circumstances to steal funding intended for those hardest hit by Sandy, namely homeowners who were left homeless and displaced renters forced to pay for new leases,” said Acting Attorney General Lougy. “It’s a sad truth that even in the direst of emergencies, when so many generous people step forward to lend a hand, there are others who will dishonestly exploit an offer of assistance.”

They collected a long list of Hoboken residents' information: names, home, employment, online comments and photos. It's unclear if photos of Hoboken residents' children were swept up into their political operations.

One of the objectives of the SLAPP-suit was to obtain and identify more members of the public who dared to speak out against the Old Guard and the Russo faction. Backed by Beth Mason and her family's underwriting, the political operations against Reform was a central obsession. Most of the screen names identified and pursued in the frivolous lawsuit never saw any allegation made against them.

MSV wrote an article on the abuse of the courts as a tool for political intimidation recently as 2014. Beth Mason complained about the article in court this year claiming it among ten MSV articles, two being of the April Fools variety, constituted criminal harassment (along with being handed a subpoena).

One person targeted in the emails is clearly a Hudson Tea building resident. That person and their family had more than once publicly voiced their opposition to Beth Mason's policies harming Hoboken.

The objective of the political operatives? They wanted to shut people up.

Thursday, June 16, 2016

People joined at City Hall to honor the dozens of terrorist victims in Orlando last weekend with Mayor Zimmer and the Hoboken City Council outside City Hall.

Related: During the early am hours of the Orlando terrorist attack, Omar Mateen made more than a dozen phone calls and posted to his Facebook account. New reports obtaining those comments the terrorist offered are just published.

Mayor Dawn Zimmer announced today that her Administration has hired Brian J. Aloia to serve as Corporation Counsel for the City of Hoboken. Mr. Aloia is the principal of Aloia Law Firm and served as Township Attorney and Director of the Law Department at Bloomfield Township from 2007 through 2016. He previously also served as attorney at the Essex County Department of Public Safety and as a partner with Weiner Lesniak.

“With the addition of Brian as our new Corporation Counsel along with Alysia Proko as First Assistant, I think we have a terrific legal team to represent the interests of Hoboken,” said Mayor Zimmer.

Mr. Aloia received his Juris Doctorate from Quinnipiac University School of Law (1996) and a Bachelor of Science from The University of Scranton (1992). He is admitted to the New Jersey State Bar, United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, and the New York Bar.

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

While details aren't going to be delved into for the moment, there was more legal activity surrounding the SLAPP-suit than the related extracuricular criminal charges dismissed last week.

The Thursday criminal charges tossed out of court were followed with a major hearing in Hudson Superior Court Friday afternoon.

Subpoenas were front and center but not of the trial testimony variety. The substantial ruling orders the onion peeled and the clock for its unpeeling started. Hundreds of thousands of dollars in an unpaid judgment is the impetus to that effort.

Said onion is ordered peeled in multiple states: New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Ohio. Questionable alleged privileges are no longer privileged and the hyperventilating is over in some legal corners as it goes into overdrive for the SLAPP connected others.

At stake, the details of the actual financing in the unknown multiples of hundreds of thousands of dollars underwriting the SLAPP-suit. No one should think a judge's order is the end of the matter.

All members of the public are invited to attend a vigil in memory of the victims of the Orlando shooting which will take place on Wednesday, June 15, 2016 at 7:15pm on the steps of Hoboken City Hall. Mayor Dawn Zimmer and City Council members will join the vigil which will include Father Gregory Morgan of All Saints Episcopal Parish, Rabbi Robert Scheinberg of United Synagogue of Hoboken, members of the LGBT community, and other community leaders.

The regularly scheduled City Council meeting will be called to order at 7:00pm, as previously scheduled, but will be immediately adjourned prior to commencement of any business, until 7:45pm, so Council Members can participate in the vigil. All agenda items will be considered at the close of the adjournment at 7:45pm.

Most targeted are apparently average Americans who would not be among those gilded with abundant armed security and towering fences with security cameras pointed in every direction.

Turning on the TV late yesterday morning was akin to stepping into the Twilight Zone. Dozens of Americans were dead and dozens more injured but the eMedia spent hours discussing the hardware involved in the terror attack and clearly reluctant to speak of the ideology behind the attacks.

As that narrative faded, the reluctance backtracked into overlapping concentric circles as a political agenda interjected quite unlike what followed 9-11.

Welcome to the new normal. Or is there a taste distinctly abnormal?

Not long ago in this nation's history, immigration, the legal variety, came with all kinds of expectations. Learning English, obeying this nation's laws and adopting this land as your home country. Sure, maintaining customs and culture, celebrating holidays and food were retained but the socialization and expected norms were adopted by everyone who was approved, stamped and accepted on these shores.

No longer. Importing a foreign ideology, incompatible with American freedom is de rigueur and the utter refusal to believe their utterances as part of what's been described an "unholy alliance" may finally protrude beyond the staged debate of removing American freedoms.

Our national security once again shows it's a paper tiger. The terrorist, as in Boston and San Bernardino was well under the microscope of the FBI but ran amok anyway. Our homeland intelligence isn't designed to manage the growing threat and the growing numbers of the the enemy within. It's been overwhelmed as the shrieks to leave American borders undefended wails to this day.

Perhaps that was the plan all along. Enjoying the transformation?

This Horse Sense editorial dedicated to all the Americans who died yesterday and their families in Orlando.

Friday, June 10, 2016

Disclaimer: All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Scratch'n sniff at your own risk. Rated D for douche bags. For display purposes only. No user-serviceable parts inside. Not a Mazin SLAPP-suit or 501(z)(3) IRS ripoff. No expressed warranty, plea bargaining or work release allowed. This is US Grade A protected satire. If you don't like it, you can kiss my horsey ass. Start likin' it.